The Metropolitan Police Service in London has said this Friday that it has started a formal investigation against comedian David Walliams for alleged sexual abuse of a particularly serious nature.
In recent days, the British network ITV News and the British newspaper "The Guardian" have reported the testimony of several women who have accused Walliams of inappropriate sexual behavior. The comedian and former judge on Britain's Got Talent was accused of having manipulated fans he met when they were just 15 years old and of harassing women at work for several years. Walliams has denied any involvement.
However, the MET investigation has nothing to do with these two reports. "However, as part of their investigation, detectives are also proactively reviewing these reports to determine whether there is any evidence of an offence," it adds.
The MET does not identify Walliams by name and speaks of a "man in his fifties", but British public broadcaster BBC has confirmed through its sources that it is the comedian and that the police statement explicitly refers to the two reports about him.
"The women who have come forward to report" are "receiving support from specialized officers," the Police adds.
The revelation comes in the same week in which the fellow British comedian Russell Brand, a friend of Walliams, has been sentenced to ten and a half years in prison for rape and sexual assault.